Safe
by Scarlet has Fantasy Issues
Summary: She changed and he hated it, wanting to know the reason why. But can he handle the truth when he hears it or will it all go to Hell in a handbasket? JeffXOC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I have no clue where this idea came from, but I just went with it. It didn't all come at once, so there might be a little problem with the flow of the story, but I'm sure you'll be able to understand it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Drew or Jeff, but I do own the OC, so ask before borrowing her.**

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lexi's POV

I stood there, staring at the empty parking spot, shivering in my jacket as rain pounded me. My boyfriend's car had been there not more than thirty minutes ago, but now it was gone just because I had taken too long to get out of the arena. And the fact that he had lost in a match against one of the other Superstars hadn't helped his attitude.

"Drew, please come back," I whispered into the cell phone I had pressed against my ear. "It's cold and –"

"Walk home," was all he said before he hung up on me.

It was pointless to call him back, so I stowed my phone in my jacket and readjusted the hood of my jacket. I was so cold and the rain wasn't helping, but I refused to walk back into the arena and ask someone for a ride. They'd only bad mouth Drew for leaving me behind and then I'd feel guilty for betraying him like that.

"Lexi?" someone asked from behind me.

I turned and saw Jeff standing there, a jacket over his head. A small smile wanted to tug at my lips, but I didn't smile. I was too numb to do it for even my best friend.

"Hey Jeff," I muttered, stowing my hands in my pockets in an attempt to get them warm.

"Don't tell me the bastard left you in the rain again," Jeff said, his eyes narrowed at the thought.

"I… I was late and he was distracted…" I mumbled, trying to find an excuse for my boyfriend so that Jeff wouldn't start on the 'Drew is no good for you' topic again, but I could tell that he wasn't falling for it.

"Come on Lexi," he said, pulling his jacket on and grabbing my hand. "You're staying with me tonight."

"But Jeff-"

"No buts Lexi. This is the last time that Drew is going to leave you in the rain."

I frowned and bowed my head as I climbed into the passenger seat of his little sports car. I wasn't going to hear the end of it when Drew realized that I wasn't coming home.

Jeff's POV

I glanced over at Lexi as I drove away from the arena. She was fidgeting with the sleeves of her jacket as she leaned back against the seat. Her head was bowed and she wasn't sitting as straight as she used to. Ever since she started dating Drew, she's been like this. She's been different.

I've known her for years. She always held her head high and was outgoing. No one seemed to be able to keep her down for long. But when I was arrested and then moved to TNA for awhile, I guess things changed for her. She started dating Drew and when I came back to SmackDown, she was a completely different person.

Her clothes had gone from fun, showy clothes in outrageous colors to a more muted color scheme and long sleeves. It was like being around Drew had made her more self conscious about her body. I haven't seen her in short sleeves or shorts since coming back to the SmackDown roster and Matt said it's been longer than that.

"This is the fifth time he's left you out in the cold this year," I pointed out, watching her head pop up at the mention of her boyfriend. "Why do you let him do this to you?"

"I love him…" Lexi mumbled. "And he loves me."

"Yeah, leaving you to catch pneumonia speaks volumes of love." I rolled my eyes and flexed my grip on the steering wheel.

"That's not fair!" Lexi exclaimed before sagging against the seat. "He was having a bad day and I wasn't making it any better."

"Lex, stop making excuses for him. The fact is that he drove off without you and left you to get sick in the rain. A man wouldn't do that if he loved you, even if he was having a bad day."

_I wouldn't do it ever_, I thought, staring out at the rain as I drove home.

She fell silent as she usually did when there was nothing to be said about her situation with Drew. I was starting to get really tired of her getting mistreated like this by the man that was supposed to love her. I mean, he cheated on her with half of the Divas in WWE and she acted like it wasn't true, even when people gave her proof of his infidelity. She's lost friends because of him and the friends she has are only hanging on because they feel sympathetic to her and believe that one day, she'll pluck up the courage to break it off with Drew.

But I knew Lexi. She'd never break it off with Drew. She had herself convinced that she was in love with him and that he was in love with her. I've seen her jump through hoops to please him, going so far as to lose a couple of dress sizes –even though she was already a healthy size – in a few weeks to fit the perfect image that he had for her, even if it left her weak.

I may not have been able to protect her while I was in jail or when I was on TNA, but now that I'm back, I'm going to assume the role as protector in her life.

Lexi's POV

I had to force myself out of Jeff's car when we came to a stop outside of his house. I knew I should have made him drive me home, but I also knew that he wouldn't have done it. He views Drew as the bad guy, even in reality, and he'd do anything to protect me.

We stopped just outside his door and attempted to shake most of the water off before entering the house. It was warm inside and I slipped my shoes and socks off, feeling the warmth spread up from the floor. Jeff kicked his shoes off and dropped his jacket onto a hook. He held a hand out for mine, but I shook my head, trembling from the cold that still gripped my body.

"I'll let you borrow some clothes to sleep in," he said, leading me upstairs. "And I'll pop the ones you're wearing in the drier."  
"Oh…so now you know how to do laundry?" I teased, remembering the times he had had laundry mishaps that messed up his clothes.

Obviously Jeff did too because he tossed a smile over his shoulder at me. "Yeah. Maybe I'll shrink your clothes so that they fit a doll."  
"You better not!"

Jeff laughed and jumped over the top step, heading down a hall to master bedroom. I hesitated outside the door, but he reached over and pulled me in. Paintings were scattered over the walls and I knew that all of them were done by him, except one. That one was on the wall across from the bed and was full of vibrant colors as it depicted a man with rainbow hair jumping from the top rope. I'd painted it years ago for him in his 'studio' and I guess he really liked it.

"Here you go," Jeff said after digging through some drawers. He held out a pair of gray sweat pants and a black wife beater. "These should be good for you. They may not fit perfectly, but that's okay."

I took the clothes and stared down at them. "Don't you have a long sleeve shirt I can wear? I'm kind of cold."

"The heater just kicked on. Once you're out of your wet clothes, you'll be warm in no time." He held his hand out once again. "Give me your jacket."

Instinctively, I shrunk away from him. "Um…the bathroom's over there, right?"

I edged toward the bathroom, trying to get away from him before he could see what I was hiding. Unfortunately, time away from Jeff has made me forget how fast he is. He grabbed the back of my jacket and pulled it off. The clothes in my hands fell to the floor and remained unnoticed for a moment as I held my breath and looked at him with deer-in-headlights eyes.

It wasn't the fact that the t-shirt under my jacket was soaked and clinging to my body like a second skin that kept Jeff's eyes locked on me. It was the dark bruises that encircled my arms and the yellowing ones that were fading back into my skin. Where my shirt had twisted up, I was sure he could see more bruises peeking out shyly on my stomach.

"Lex…" he whispered, his eyes wide in horror.

I turned my face away from him, tears welling up in my eyes. I let my wet hair form a curtain between the two of us, blotting him from my sight. I heard him take a deep breath and closed my eyes, ready for him to go off.

"Alexis, get dressed and then come downstairs," Jeff said quietly and I could hear the pain in his voice. "We need to talk."

I bent down and picked up the clothes I had dropped, hurrying into the master bathroom and shutting the door behind me. When people used my whole name, things weren't going to be all rainbows and sunshine…

I stood there, staring at my reflection, seeing a miserable version of the woman I used to be. Frankly, I looked like a drowned rat with my damp hair clinging to my skull and my makeup streaked down my face. I dropped the clothes I'd been given on the counter and grabbed some toilet paper, rubbing at the make up until it was off my face. It didn't help my appearance much, but it was a start.

I glared at my reflection and wished that I was what I used to be. I wished I was the friend that Jeff tried to remind me that I had been.

The wet clothes fell to the floor around my feet, leaving me to stand in my bra and underwear. The bruises stood out against my pale flesh, painful reminders of the life I've been living since my best friend had been out of my life. Little tokens of the love Drew claimed to have for me.

_Jeff…what have I done?_

Jeff's POV

I collected Lexi's clothes when she handed them over through the door. I left her there to collect herself and let her finish getting dressed to go toss our wet clothes in the drier. I almost closed the door to the drier when the sound of her intro music came from the pocket of her jacket and I pulled out her cell phone. Drew's name scrolled across the screen as it continued to play her song and I closed the drier, walking out of the laundry room. After a moment, the message '1 missed call' popped up and I walked into the kitchen to listen to the voice mail.

"_Alexis, where are you? Why aren't you in the damn arena waiting for me? I've looked everywhere for you, wasting MY time to hunt you down! You've got some explaining to do. I am very pissed right now and you aren't making it better! We are going to talk about this when I find your scrawny ass!"_

I didn't feel like listening to the rant continue coming out of the Scot's mouth via the cell phone and decided to delete the message. I turned the phone off, setting it on the counter and sat down on one of the stools, waiting.

The image of the bruises on Lexi's arms came flooding back. I knew that Drew was scum for cheating on her, but now I knew he was worse than scum. He was abusing someone that I cared for deeply and what hurt me the most was that Lexi had been hiding this from me for weeks. She would never reveal the truth to me if she was given the choice, but when I had pulled off the jacket, the truth was evident.

She couldn't lie to me now. She couldn't defend Drew anymore. She couldn't continue to lie to herself. All of that had been done away with when I had seen the marks of his supposed 'love' for her.

I heard her creeping down the hall towards the kitchen, her eyes holding a sadness that I hadn't wanted to see in her eyes. My clothes were loose on her, the drawstrings on the sweatpants pulled as tightly as they could be tied, reminding me of the weight she had lost to compete with the other Divas who had threatened to capture the cold eye of Drew. She didn't bother hiding the bruises on her arms because the damage was already done. I had already seen them, crawling up her arms like a botched tattoo.

I pulled out the stool and patted the cushioned part, silently telling her to sit down. She sat quickly, not meeting my eyes as she played with the drawstrings. I didn't know where to begin, but I knew I had to start somewhere.

"How long has the abuse been going on?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

Lexi shrugged. "Since our third date…It started with a smack and it's only grown worse and more frequent…"

"Why haven't you left or told someone what he's done to you?"  
Again she shrugged and looked at me with one eye. "He promised me that he'd stop hurting me…and he did for awhile…but he always starts it again…And he said that he loved me…I just make him upset sometimes by talking back or down to him…and he drinks a lot…I…just want to believe that one day he'll stop and be nice…"

"He's not going to stop abusing you until you put him behind bars or he kills you." I saw her flinch at the harshness of my voice, but she had to know that was in her future if she continued to date Drew. "He's going to only get worse if you stay with him, Lex."

She bit her bottom lip and looked at me like she was thinking about something that she wanted to hold back. "I know he can get worse…he's already taken so much from me. Do you know I haven't talked to my own family since I started dating him after you were arrested? I've lost most of my friends…I'm making myself sick with all the dieting I do to be the right size for him…and it's not enough…He wants more and more from me every day and when I can't give it to him, he hurts me…"

I didn't really want to ask her this question because I knew that the wrong answer had the chance at sending me over the edge, but I had to know. "Lex…has Drew…?"

"What? Raped me?" Lexi stared me with pain in her eyes. "What do you think?"  
"How many times?"

"I've lost count…" Lexi admitted after a moment of silence. "I don't even scream for help anymore…none ever comes, so why should I scream? It always falls on deaf ears and he'll always come after me when he can't have his whores…I just lay there and take it, crying as he moves in me, thinking that maybe I deserve it all…"

"No!" I was shocked that she could ever think that. "You don't ever deserve to be treated like that!"

A sad little smile appeared on her lips. "I've let him beat me and rape me…I've let him sleep around…I've let him tear me away from the people that care about me…I've turned down help and I've lied to protect him…I've done this for a long time…and you tell me that I don't deserve any of this?"

I reached over and took her hands in mine. "You don't deserve to be treated this way, Lexi. You deserve the right to be able to walk with your head held high and dress how you want. No one ever deserves to be abused like Drew abuses you."

She frowned as she looked at me. "Maybe you're right…But I thought there was going to be a better time for me and him when he got me pregnant…"

"He got you pregnant?" I stole a glance at her very flat stomach.

"It was months ago…when I took that little break from wrestling…" Lexi explained. "But I didn't carry the baby to full term." Her breath hitched like she was going to cry, but no tears fell. "I told everyone who knew about the pregnancy that I fell down some stairs and landed on my stomach the wrong way...and the funny thing is, everyone believed me. Everyone believed in the lie and the world went on spinning…"

"Lex, I'm…sorry…"

"And I wanted to tell you…when I found out that I miscarried because of him, I wanted to tell you everything, but you were still in TNA…you hadn't called me in weeks…you hadn't even bothered to scrawl down a few words on a piece of paper…" I could see the tears swimming in her eyes. "I told myself that you needed to clear your head…to get back to where you were before the drugs and the arrest…I told myself that one day, you'd come back and you'd save me from the life that I was living because I could count on you, but you never came…you never saved me from Drew…

"I gave up hope…I'd given up long before you came back to SmackDown…and when you came, I was so ashamed at what I had let myself become...weak and empty…someone who was scared of her own shadow…I didn't want you to be dragged into the mess I've let my life become…I didn't want to hurt you and I was still convinced that Drew loved me…but you were always there, telling me what I didn't want to acknowledge about Drew and…you listened to my lies…maybe you even believed some of them…but you knew I was hurting and you let me cry on your shoulder occasionally…" She wiped away a tear quickly. "But because I was terrified of how you'd react…you never heard of what happened to me, so you never came…But God, I wanted you to come…I wanted you to look me in the eye when I said I was okay and I wanted you to tell me to stop pretending, to make me tell you everything."

I stood up and closed the small space between us, wrapping my arms around her as the tears started falling. I felt like crying myself, hearing her pour her soul out to me. She felt so tiny in my arms and she trembled as she cried.

"Lex, I'm here for you now," I told her, resting my chin lightly on her head. "I will be here for you for as long as you want me to be here because that's what friends do…You're safe with me."

I held her until she stopped crying and she pulled away. Her eyes were red and her face was kind of blotchy from all the crying, but she still looked cute.

"Can I see a smile now?" I asked, tilting my head to one side. "Do I see a little smile right there?"

A small smile appeared on her lips as I brushed her hair back away from her face. "You are so weird…"

"I know, but I'm your weird friend," I told her. "So…are you ready to go to sleep or is there anything else I need to know?"

"Like what?"

"Like anything else that will make me want to kick Drew's ass to the moon and back again?"  
Lexi shook her head after a moment. "Bed sounds really good right about now…" She trailed off as her phone rang. "That would be him…"

I reached over and picked up the phone. It was Drew again. I smirked and ignored the call, blocking the number. With a smug little smile at the thought of how Drew would react when he couldn't reach Lexi, I pocketed the phone and looked at her, seeing the deer-in-headlights look in her eyes.

"Don't worry about him tonight," I told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as I escorted her down the hall towards the stairs again. "You just worry about getting the best rest you could ever get and in the case I come in to start a pillow fight, be prepared to fight back. And in the morning, we'll figure out what the next step is going to be. Okay?"  
Lexi nodded and slid one of her arms around me. "Thanks Jeff."

Lexi's POV

I was a little worried about falling asleep that night. I kept thinking that I'd hear the squeal of tires outside the house and then the door exploding under the force of Drew's anger. I kept thinking that he'd show up and hurt me worse than he's ever hurt me, maybe even kill me for sleeping in a house that wasn't his, for not sleeping in the same bed as him.

After awhile, exhaustion claimed me and my dreams started out as terrifying and tormented as they usually did. But there was a change. Jeff was in them and instead of disappearing when Drew started attacking me again, Jeff came to my rescue. He saved me from Drew's wrath and kept me safe, showing me what true love was.

Half way through the night, I woke up when thunder shook the house. I sat there on the guest bed, looking out the window at the storm, thinking about how lucky I was to have a friend like Jeff. Part of me knew that he was one of the only people in the world who truly loved me and would never stop.

Jeff's POV

I was having a good dream about a vacation with Lexi when something hit me on the face, startling me awake. I opened my eyes to find Lexi straddling my body, holding a pillow in her hands. She smiled down at me and waved the pillow threateningly.

"Are you awake now?" she asked.

"Yeah." Then I pounced on her, tickling her gently.

Her laughter filled the room as she tried to fight off my tickling fingers. It felt good to hear her laughter after not hearing it for so long. It was so bright and happy that I couldn't resist laughing with her.

I only stopped when breathing became difficult for her. We lay there in a tangled mess on my bed and I felt as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She smiled at me and giggled even though she was fighting to breathe.

"Someone is happy this morning," I commented, propping my head up on my elbow. "Can I ask why?"  
"I had some really good dreams last night," Lexi said with the kind of smile that I missed: a bright, true smile.

"Really?"

She nodded and sat up. "Okay. So I was snooping around your kitchen a little while ago and I found pancake mix and chocolate chips and I was thinking that maybe I could make you some chocolate chip pancakes. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah."

She smiled and managed to get out of my bed. I let her disappear down the hall before following a few minutes later. I could hear her singing in the kitchen as pots were moved around as I wandered down the stairs.

Lexi was pouring some pancake mix into a pan and turned, popping some chocolate chips in her mouth. I stood there, watching her for a moment before coming up behind her and stole the bag of chocolate chips out of her hands. She gave me a look and turned back to check on the pancakes.

"So how long have you been up?" I asked, popping a handful of chocolate chips in my mouth.

"Only a few hours," she muttered, flipping the pancakes. "I kind of watched you sleep for awhile before I attacked you with the pillow. I'm sorry if that makes me seem like a creeper, but you're so cute when you're sleeping."

"And what about when I'm awake?"

"You're still a very attractive man," Lexi assured me with a small smile. "Rainbow hair and all."

I smiled. "You're not so bad looking yourself."

"Yeah, I really make all the girls jealous…" I caught her rolling her eyes and she turned the stove off, putting the pancakes on a plate.

"Hey," I said, making her look at me once more. "You're very pretty. Why else do you think Drew was so eager to have you on his arm?"  
Her eyes clouded over and she set the pancakes down to look for the syrup. "Because I was the only one stupid enough to fall for the lie."  
Okay. Bad example.

"And what about those guys who always go out of their way to get you what you need?" I asked quickly. "John, Randy…?"  
"And you…"

"Yeah, but you're not interested in dating little old me."  
Lexi bit her bottom lip as she turned to look at me. "Well…"  
"Lex?"

"I…I may have a major crush on you," Lexi admitted, setting the syrup aside. "I mean, how could I not? You've been my best friend for years. You're always there for me. You support me in everything that I do. You make me feel good when I'm down. And…you do so much for me that it would take me forever to tell you all the things about you that make me love you."

I hesitated. "Then why are you with Drew?"

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You weren't there when I mustered up the courage to voice my heart's feelings because you were arrested and I didn't know that until I went to a photo shoot the next day…and by that time, Drew was already making moves on me. He was very persistent and I was starting to see things in him that I liked, but when you went to TNA and stopped talking to me for awhile, that was the tipping point. I went with him because you didn't seem interested in me. He was there and…you weren't."  
"Lex, I wish you would have told me sooner," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "I could have stopped all of the bad things from happening."

Lexi shrugged. "It's too late to change anything that's already happened…So, please eat your breakfast."

She pushed a fork in my direction and I picked it up.

Lexi's POV

I picked at my pancakes, barely bringing any of them to my mouth. I could feel Jeff glancing at me out of the corner of his eye every now and then, but he didn't say anything around his mouthful of pancake. He seemed to like the food I'd prepared for him which was something I wasn't used to because Drew never seemed content with the food I made him. It was a welcome change.

"I'm going to have to go back to the house," I said after a moment.

His head snapped up and his eyes narrowed. "What?"

"I have to go back to my house and see Drew," I repeated quietly.

"You're not going back there. Drew will hurt you again."

"I have to break off our relationship so I don't get hurt anymore. And if I'm going to stay with you, I'm going to need my own clothes," I explained calmly. "I need to go there today…and I'd like it if you drove me there, in case Drew is there and he's pissed."

"You know he's going to be pissed," Jeff pointed out, setting down his fork like he had lost his appetite. "You didn't come home last night, you haven't answered any of his calls…If you don't watch it, he will kill you."

I nodded. "I know…so will you come with me? I'll take only what I can fit into my duffel bag. After that, we'll see where we have to go from there."

Jeff sighed. "Fine. We'll go after breakfast and I'm going in the house with you." I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut across me. "I don't want him to start something with you and you know he will. It's my job to protect you and I plan to do it, starting now."  
It was my turn to sigh. "Okay."

An hour later, we were parking the car across the street from my house. I glanced at the house, seeing the dark windows and noticed the absence of Drew's car. "I don't think he's home…"

"He's probably with one of his mistresses," Jeff muttered bitterly, turning the car off.

"Yeah…" I unfastened my seatbelt and opened the car door. "I think I can go in there by myself since he's not here."

Jeff sighed and climbed out of the car. "Fine. But if you don't come out of there in ten minutes, I'm going to kick the door down and play Superman."

I climbed out of the car and hurried across the street, pulling my key out of my pocket. I cast a nervous glance around and fit the key in the lock, turning it. The click of the lock sounded too loud in my opinion and I quietly opened the door, keeping it cracked open just in case I needed to make a hasty exit.

Jeff's POV

I watched Lex disappear inside her house and leaned back against my car, keeping a sharp eye on the house. In my head I was silently counting the seconds that passed. When a car drove past, I followed it with my eyes. To my surprise, I saw a car that looked a lot like Drew's parked farther down the street.

Dread welled up inside me when I realized that it was Drew's car. That meant-

"Lex!" I exclaimed, running across the street.

I burst into the house and froze when I saw Drew towering over Lexi's trembling body. Her hand was pressed against the side of her face, but I could see the reddening skin peeking out from between her splayed fingers. Drew's hateful gaze turned on me and his face contorted in anger.

"So you were with him! I should have known I was harboring an unfaithful slut!" Drew growled, making to grab Lex by her hair.

That's when I intervened. I got in between the two of them and pushed Drew back. "You're not going to lay another hand on her, Galloway!" I glanced over my shoulder. "Lex, go get your things. I'll be up in a minute."

I heard her clamber to her feet and run up the steps. I thought I heard her whisper 'be careful' before her footsteps faded on the stairs. My attention turned back to Drew who looked absolutely livid.

"Who do you think you are invading _my_ house, stealing _my _girlfriend?" Drew hissed, glaring at me.

"I'm the one who's going to kick your ass if you ever touch Lexi again," I snarled right back. "Because if you even try, I will beat you so hard, your career will be over." I smirked darkly at him. "And it might be as good as over right now, once I convince Lex to tell the authorities what you've done to her and contact Teddy."

Drew's eyes narrowed. "They'll never believe that bitch."

"Oh they will when they see the bruises and hear about the hell you've put her through," I promised. "Now, get out of this house or I'll pick the phone up right now and report you."

Drew gave me the most hateful stare I've ever seen and turned, leaving the house. "This isn't over…"

I walked over and closed the door before turning and hurrying up the stairs. The door to the master bedroom was wide open and I could see Lexi's shadow as she moved around the room, gathering her things. I moved into it and saw her shoving clothes into the bag with other clothes scattered across the floor. They appeared to be lacy, hooker clothes and I knew that she'd never wear them if given the choice. She looked up with fear in her eyes when she realized I was there.

"Is he gone?" she asked.

"Yeah," I muttered, opening the closet door and yanking her clothes off the hangers, not really surprised to see that Drew had more clothes than her in there. I started shoving the clothes in her bag while she went over to the closet and pulled out a photo album, hugging it to her chest like it was her most prized possession in the world.

"Did he hurt you?" she asked, touching my face gently while her eyes scanned my body.

"No." I promised, taking her hand and lifting the bag off the bed of horrors. "Let's go before he comes back. We can get the rest of your stuff later."  
Lex took one last look around the room before following me down the hall and down the stairs. We hurried across the street and climbed into my car, shoving her bag into the backseat. I looked down the street and saw that Drew's car was gone. Maybe it was over.

Lexi's POV

Ever since the day I moved out of Drew's house and into Jeff's, I haven't been bothered by Drew. He completely avoids me and when he can't, he acts like I'm not even there. I didn't press charges against him even though Jeff and Teddy Long said that it was my right to do so and that it was in my best interest to do it. I don't know why I didn't, I guess I just thought I didn't need to drag him into court and make the problems of my past public to the world. A three week suspension for an 'unknown' cause was good enough for me and even if Jeff didn't like the lenient punishment, he didn't question my motives.

Jeff…Jeff's been great to me. He's made me feel so welcome in his home and he is nothing like Drew. He treats me like I'm a normal girl who shouldn't be forced to fit a certain image. He helped me work my way back to my old self – the outgoing, flamboyant character that I once was, dying my hair back from blonde to the blue, black and purple it used to be. No longer did I wear long sleeves or make attempts to hide my body as my self-consciousness melted away.

I looked up when I heard a knock on the door of my locker room. I had a match in a few minutes and I couldn't imagine who would want to bother me now. A smile appeared on my lips as I saw Jeff peeking through the door. I guess he took my smile as permission to come in because he came in and closed the door behind him. I finished dealing putting on my boot and stood up.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Yep. Michelle is going down," I replied, taking the hand he offered.

He smiled and pulled me closer, wrapping his arms around me. My eyes fluttered closed as he pressed his lips against mine. I had found my safety in his arms.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: So what do you think? Like-y or no like-y? A review will let you unleash all of your complaints and optional praise.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So, some people liked what I did, and some didn't care at all to review. That's okay. I'm giving you another shot at this with another dosage of OC/Jeff drama.**

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lexi's POV

I stood there, staring at my reflection in the mirror. It'd been a couple of months since everything had happened between me, Jeff, and Drew and things had been going good. I had returned to my healthy size and my normal outgoing nature with the help of Jeff. And I was painting again – but it wasn't anything special. My work was mostly just blobs of color, splatters, and fast brush strokes in an abstract form, but Jeff liked it and so did I.

_I can do this…I can do this…_I looked down at the things resting on the counter and quickly lifted my eyes back up to the mirror. _I can't do this…_

I hadn't been feeling well for awhile. The WWE medical team had no idea what was going on with me, though one or two dropped their own hints. They told me to go see my regular doctor and come back to them with the results. I hadn't done that yet, but I did talk to my fellow Divas and even Stephanie McMahon.

The Divas had their own version of what was going on. What they said scared me because I wasn't ready to mature that much. And Jeff probably wasn't ready to assume so much responsibility...But I was starting to see where the girls were coming from. My sickness was going on just like they thought it would.

Simply put: they all thought I was pregnant and I was starting to think so too.

I mean, I haven't had a visit from my monthly friend in a couple of months which I didn't consider a bad thing until I started talking with my friends. Apparently, it couldn't be considered a fluke caused by my athleticism that I'd missed my period for two consecutive months. Something had to be up and my friends had slipped me two pregnancy tests to prove that they weren't blowing smoke.

I looked at the mirror and frowned. If I was pregnant, that wouldn't be good. I was young. I was inexperienced with children. I had just gotten out of an abusive relationship with the man who killed my first, unborn child. My body wasn't ready, but it was too late to take it back.

I shook my head. If I was pregnant, there was a problem with the timeline. The child could have been fathered by either man – my loving boyfriend and my dangerous ex. There wasn't much time difference between the last time I was raped by Drew and the first time I was with Jeff, so as much as Jeff would be thrilled to find out that he'd have his first kid, he'd have to be faced with the hated knowledge that Drew could be the father of my child.

_I have to do this…_I told myself, looking down once more. I still had a minute before the test would reveal to me the results. _I have to find out today…and then I have to tell Jeff. Unless, I'm not pregnant and this is just a fluke…Maybe…_

I grabbed the tests and stared at the little screens on them, holding my breath. The tests both revealed their results to me at the same time. I picked up the box and looked at the back, comparing my results. My heart sank after a momentary burst of happiness and I sank onto the side of the bathtub, staring at the two tests in my hands.

_How am I going to tell Jeff? _I thought, feeling tears come to my eyes as I stared down at the little sticks.

A second later, the doorknob turned.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Jeff's POV

I'd entered the house with my brother, expecting to find Lexi waiting for me with a hug and a bright smile. She wasn't in the living room or the kitchen and she didn't appear when I called out for her. But I'd seen her car in the driveway, so she had to be home.

"Maybe she's really involved in a piece of art in the studio," Matt suggested, gesturing up the stairs. "With her headphones on, so she can ignore the 'house goddess' duties you make her do."

I rolled my eyes and bounded up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Lexi wasn't in the studio, painting away like I'd left her doing a few hours earlier. Her current artwork sat on the easel in the corner. I pushed away my panic and decided to take a look at it.

It was pretty good for someone who wasn't known for her artistic talent. Lexi had managed to make the forms of two rainbow-haired people wrapped in each other's arms in vivid colors and brushstrokes. It was something she liked doing even though she claimed she couldn't blend colors.

"Pretty," Matt commented, looking at it. "I like…the colors and the hippies."

"Did you smoke some crack when I wasn't looking?" I asked, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye.

"Depends on who's asking," Matt said with a cheesy smile. "Why? Are you selling again?"

"Matt, if you weren't my brother, I'd be killing you right about now," I told him before heading out of the studio. "Maybe she's in the bedroom, taking a nap."

Matt muttered something about 'not disturbing a sleeping beauty', but I ignored him. The door to the bedroom was closed, but when I opened it a little and peeked in, there was no one in the bed. It looked just like it had before I left the house: messy and announcing to the world that someone had just had some fun with the love of their life. But the door to the bathroom was closed and I could hear movement in there.

"Lex?" I asked, but no one made a sound in the bathroom as I neared it.

I grabbed the doorknob and turned it, pulling the door open. Lexi was sitting on the side of the tub, staring down at two sticks in her hand. Her eyes met mine for a moment and she held the sticks out, careful to keep her fingers on the toilet tissue wrapped around them. I didn't question her as I took them and looked down at the little screens.

The symbols on the screens made no sense to me. Matt saw me looking at them, grabbed a box off the counter and looked at the back of the box.

"If there are two dashes, then there is a confirmed pregnancy," Matt read off the box. He looked at me. "How many dashes are there?"

I stared down at the tests and then lifted my eyes to look at Lexi as she climbed to her feet. "Two…on each of them." I offered her a wan smile. "You're pregnant."

"I know."

There was no happiness in her voice. There was no smile. There was nothing to show that she was happy to know that we had a baby – or more – on the way.

Matt was the complete opposite. He clapped me on the back with a large smile on his face. "Congratulations bro! I knew ya had it in you!" His eyes turned to Lexi and he wrapped his arms around her in a big hug. "Congrats to you too, Lex! Now all that's left for you to do is get married and have as many mini-Jeffs's running around here as possible. I want…oh, a dozen nephews and nieces."

I sensed that there was something that Lexi wanted to say, but it was something that maybe Matt shouldn't hear. Not yet, anyway. I gave my brother a look and he held his hands up in surrender.

"I know…you all want to have a little chat about what this means, so I'll give you some space," Matt said, backing out of the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

I set aside the two positive pregnancy tests and looked at Lexi. She looked absolutely miserable.

"Lex? Why didn't you tell me that you thought you were pregnant?" I asked. "Or did you not know?"

"I didn't know," Lexi said. "I…The girls bought these for me because _they _thought I was pregnant. I…I'm sorry Jeff."

"Why?" I wrapped my arms around her, but she turned her face away from me. "I'm happy that we created life together. I've always wanted a kid to spoil and teach how to jump off of everything."

"Jeff…" Lexi sighed heavily, pulling herself out of my arms. "There's something I need to tell you…"

"What?"

"The baby…might not be yours," Lexi whispered the words that I wouldn't have expected in a million years. "I didn't cheat on you, but the timeline…there's not much time difference from the first time we slept together and the last time that…"

"Drew raped you."

My eyes narrowed, but I wasn't angry with Lexi. How could I be angry for something she had no control over? It wasn't her fault that Drew was a sick bastard that had abused her for months and scared her senseless. No, I was angry that my first child with Lexi could have been created by the evil bastard I had saved Lexi from.

"Jeff, I'm sorry," Lexi apologized again, hugging herself like it was the only thing that was keeping her together. "I didn't want this to happen. Not again. Not when I haven't gotten over the first baby…Jeff, if the baby is his, it'll bring him back into our lives! I can't let him have influence over the baby. He'll make it become like him or worse, he'll kill it!"

"Lex, calm down," I whispered, trying to think logically past all of the chaos going on in my mind. "Drew doesn't need to know that there's a possibility that it's his. We don't need to reintroduce him into our lives, even if the baby is his. Because, either way, the baby is mine. I'll raise him or her as if they were my own." I smiled through the pain. "The baby is ours. They'll be born to us….there's no way God would let you be cursed with another one of Drew's children anyway. They are ours. My blood and yours."

Lexi looked at me, her hand going to her stomach for a moment. I wrapped an arm around her and held her close.

"I love you, Lex and we'll go through this one step at a time. Together."

She offered me a wan smile and I placed a small kiss on her forehead. I could tell that it would be awhile before she would perk back up. It would take a few more loving gestures to prove to her that I wasn't mad and that this was one of the best things that were happening for us in a long time.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lexi's POV

I let Jeff and Matt go down to the basement to play their video games and drink beer in celebration of the news. There were calls to be made to let the other people in my life know that a new life had been created.

"Hey, this is Maryse," a sweet, accented voice said over the phone. It was obvious she hadn't glanced at her cell phone to see who was calling. "Can I help you?"

"Ryse it's me," I said, leaning back on the couch and propping my feet up on the end.

"Lexi, you sound terrible darling," Maryse crooned. "Are you coming down with something? Do you need me to bring you some soup? Or…" Her tone changed from light hearted to serious. "Have you been crying?"

"I haven't really cried…but I've come close to it," I admitted.

"Why? Did Jeff say something heartless? Do you want me to sick my boy-toy on him?"

"Jeff…Jeff is the same sweet guy he always has been, so you can leave Ted out of this one. No, I was actually upset over something else." I sighed. "I used the pregnancy tests that you and Mickie gave me."

"And?"

"I'm pregnant."

I had to hold my phone away from my ear for a moment when Maryse screamed with happiness. I heard her call to Ted and tell him that she had been right. Apparently, he owed her a nice dinner for this news.

"Darling, I'm so happy for you," Maryse purred once she got the screaming out of her system. "For the both of you…I knew that something like this was going to happen when I saw you two together. I thought to myself 'what a cute couple those two make and they'd make an even cuter baby'. And here you are, with child. A Hardy baby." She let out a little giggle. "You're going to have your hands full with the baby when they learn to walk. They'll be climbing and jumping off of everything before you know it. I'm telling you, darling, that you'll never have a moment's peace."

I smiled a wan smile. "I know. I'm hoping that they'll be just like their father. He's been…so good for me since he found out about Drew. I've never been loved like this before."

I could hear the smile in her voice. "You may want them to be like Jeff, but I know your daughters are going to be like you. True, they'll still be jumping off things they shouldn't and will be wanting to dye their hair so many colors by the age of four, but they'll have your heart. And they'll be good to everyone, but with your wisdom you'll teach them to think for themselves and to find love in the right places. They'll listen to their heart like you have."

She laughed lightly. "Of course, I'm going to want you and Jeff to have as many children as possible. I want to have someone to spoil because it's not looking too good for me and Ted in regards to having children. Baby clothes are so cute these days and now, I have a reason to buy some of the cutest outfits I've seen."

"Oh, I'm sure you're going to have your own bundle of joy any month now."

"Ha! Darling, you know I'm not going to have children with Ted until he slides a wedding ring on my finger. Speaking of which…when are you and Jeff going to waltz up to the altar and say your 'I dos'?"

I had been expecting that question since I called her. Maryse was a stickler for marriage before conception and the very idea of me being pregnant had her pestering me about getting married to Jeff. She had gone as far as to drag me into a bridal gown store and made me try on a few dresses before I could convince her to go somewhere else.

"We'll get married when we're ready," I told her. "We've only been dating for two months, Ryse. I can't expect him to propose to me after two months of dating."

"But you two couldn't stay out of the same bed until you figured that out?" She had me there. "Honey, Jeff has been in love with you for as long as I can remember. All of those little 'play dates' you two went on were actually dates. So, think back as far as you can remember of your time as friends with Jeff, subtract the first month of knowing him, and you'll have the actual time of dating. From what I can calculate, you've been together for over two years. That's even longer than Ted and I have been together and it's a perfect amount of time for Jeff to realize that he loves you as more than a girlfriend. He'll want to make you his wife in no time."

"Yeah, right."

"I'm serious. How many times have I been wrong about something like this?"

"You did say that Melina was going to be with John forever when you saw them together. Look who he's with now."

"Forget that. I didn't know that Mark's daughter would be so pretty and sweet. Besides, I don't like Melina anymore, so my guess was off about her. But with you and Jeff, I know that you two are going to be together forever. You mark my words, there's going to be a wedding in your near future."

The doorbell rang and I glanced at the clock on the DVD player. "Ryse, I've got to go. The pizzas are here and the boys are going to make talking to you very hard."

"I know. Ciao darling."

I hung up and climbed to my feet. "Boys the pizza guys are here!" I called down the stairs as I walked to the front door.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Jeff's POV

I felt Matt's eyes on me every now and then as we ate pizza. Lexi was perched on a stool in the kitchen, talking with him about his relationship with Maria and his recent injury that he was almost recovered from. I did my best to play cool and act like I didn't feel my brother's gaze on me. If he kept it up, everything was going to be ruined.

"If the docs are right, I'll be back in the ring in a couple of weeks," Matt said with a smile as he polished off his sixth piece of pizza. "I'll finally get my rematch against Alberto del Rio and make him pay for attacking me."

"And he'll put you in a submission hold that will undo all of the healing you've done and send you back to the disabled list," I commented, popping a piece of pepperoni into my mouth. "He does it every time you strike up a fight against him."

Matt gave me a look before looking at Lexi again. She was holding one of those green peppers that came with the pizza, looking at it like she was seriously considering eating it. A smirk touched Matt's lips.

"Go ahead. Eat it," Matt ordered with a challenging grin. "Make sure that the baby likes spicy food or you'll be puking your guts out."

Lexi rolled her eyes and put the pepper in her mouth, biting it off at the stem. Matt watched her for the slightest change in color as she chewed. I nudged my beer bottle closer to the pizza box while Lexi's attention was directed upon Matt.

"It's not spicy," she shot back, grabbing another pepper. "If anyone thinks it's spicy, then they're simply a wimp."

"Right. I want some more pizza," Matt stated, reaching for the pizza.

His elbow collided with my beer bottle, knocking it over. The frothy drink within spilled over the counter and Lexi pushed herself away from the counter to avoid getting it on her.

"Matt!" she exclaimed.

"My bad," he said, grabbing a fistful of napkins to sop up the mess. "I think Jeff needs a new beer."

I righted the bottle and shook it. There was barely any liquid in it. Lexi saw this and climbed to her feet. As she crossed into the kitchen, Matt elbowed me and gave me a look. I smirked and climbed to my feet, following Lexi into the kitchen.

"Honestly, your brother is the most accident prone person I've ever met," she commented, opening the fridge. "I thought you Hardy brothers were supposed to be renowned for not being klutzes."

"He's going through that awkward stage of life," I replied, leaning against the freezer side of the refrigerator. "Give him a little break for now. In about five years, we'll see if he hasn't cleared that up."

Lexi was staring at the bottle in her hand. On the neck of the bottle was a little chain and on that was a simple ring inscribed with a simple Celtic design. I know Lexi has always been fascinated by the Celts, so I looked high and low for the perfect ring for her. She looked up from the bottle when I took it off her hands.

"J-Jeff?" she asked, watching me pluck the ring off the chain.

"Alexis, I've loved you for as long as I've known you," I begin, looking down at her. "I've fallen in love with your playful antics, your smile, and…well, everything about you. You've made the years I've known you, the best years of my life and you were the person that kept me going when I was in jail. You are the only face I want to see in the morning and the last person I want to see before I close my eyes. And…" I smiled. "You're going to be the mother of my child. I want to spend every moment of this with you, as man and wife."

"Cut out the romantic monologue and just ask her already," Matt commanded impatiently, throwing the balled up napkins onto the counter.

Lexi and I gave him a look that clearly told him to shut up. She placed a hand on my chest, her manicured tips grazing over the skin through the thin material. I looked back down at her and held up the ring.

"Will you marry me?" I asked.

She nodded ecstatically and I slipped the ring on her finger. Matt's cheers were the loudest while we kissed and we settled down to celebrate our future child and our engagement…

**A/N: So, you are now left with a choice. You can leave, or you can review and then leave. Choose wisely and you may be rewarded in the future.**


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